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Megan paced on her side of the office, clearly flustered. “I don’t get it. For the last several weeks all you could talk about was how you needed this shop—that it was the only option you had. And suddenly you want to walk away from everything you have worked for?” She threw her hands into the air then stopped to face him. “You can’t just—”
“I can’t just what? This is my business. It’s my livelihood. And the way I see it, you didn’t want anything to do with me anyhow, so it shouldn’t matter to you what I do with it.” Daniel flinched at the sharp tone of his voice. This wasn’t supposed to be another argument. He had wanted the dust to settle before he confronted her again and told her his plans. It was supposed to be his big romantic gesture and she was ruining it.
An exasperated burst of air escaped his lips. “You’re ruining everything, you know that?”
“Me?” she scoffed. “How am I ruining anything? This is your place.”
“Exactly. My place. And I can do whatever the heck I want when I want.”
She groaned but it sounded more like a growl, causing him to straighten up a little bit. “I came over here to tell you… I wanted to say…” She bit down on her lip and looked away. “I was wrong.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected her to saythat. Her whole demeanor softened and she dropped her hands to her sides. It almost looked like she had given up, that this argument wasn’t what she’d planned either. All thoughts of confessing why he’d made this decision flew out the window as she approached him.
“I should have never gotten mad about that book reading. And if youhadapplied for it, I shouldn’t have said anything. You need to run your coffee shop the way that makes the most sense to you.” She stared down at her feet and in that moment, the realization hit him. She’d come to tell him that she wanted to be there for him—to support him in a way that had to be incredibly difficult for her.
“Hey,” he said softly.
She didn’t look up at him, pushing him to tilt her chin just enough she would have to meet his gaze.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about what this coffee shop means to me and what I would want it to be. And I realized something. You were right.”
She blinked at him, surprise emanating from her eyes.
“Not about me needing to turn down the book reading. But about doing something I’m passionate about. I need to remember where my heart is and I’ve been working so tirelessly to make sure this place works, that I lost sight of who I am and what makes me happy. The stress I’ve had to put myself under just to keep the coffee shop open wasn’t worth it.” He took a deep breath and released it. The courage it took for him to say those words out loud was harder to come by than he’d expected.
Now what?
Could he tell her that this realization had come along with something else?
He wasn’t sure he had it in him. Already, he was relinquishing what little control he had left. To put his heart out on the line in this moment seemed too risky.
At the same time, he couldn’t think of anything left he had to lose. She had already broken up with him. She’d walked away. Now that she was back and standing before him, this would probably be the only opportunity he might have to win her back.
He just needed to go for it.
Daniel reached for her hand and laced his fingers between hers. “I wanted to call you when I finally made my decision. You don’t know just how hard it was to keep it to myself until I figured out how everything would work. It actually came together quite easily.” He gave her a crooked smile. “I’m going to go back to work for my family. I’ll be liquidating everything I can to try to recoup the money I invested in this place and I’m going to get a fresh start. Ididkeep a few things that I’m going to let you have… if you’re interested.”
“But—”
He stopped her with one look. “Don’t try to convince me I’m making a mistake. It was hard enough as it was. I know where I’m supposed to be now. And I’m going to follow my dream like you told me to do in the first place.”
“Daniel,” she whispered, “I never meant for you to—”
“Don’t. I can hear it in your voice, you know—the guilt. Yes, my decision was made with you in mind, but you weren’t the reason I did it. I have to make sure I’m happy, too.” He looked down at their interlocking hands then shut his eyes briefly as if that motion alone would give him the courage to say what was in his heart. “Megan, I still love you.”
She didn’t respond and for a moment he thought she might not have heard him. But when he glanced up, he found her crying. His heart lurched, and his stomach flipped.
“What’s the matter? Did I—”
“I love you too, Daniel. That’s why I’m here. I realized how poorly I’d treated you and how you deserved someone so much better than me—so much more supportive.”
He shook his head, emotion clogging up his throat. “Please don’t say that.”
“It’s true,” she said with a watery laugh. “You can’t deny it. I only had eyes for one thing when I moved here. I wanted to be the best of the best. I wanted to open my bookstore and wow the town with my business savvy. I wanted to win everyone over… I just didn’t count on there being only one person who really mattered.” She pressed her lips together then smiled thinly. “A dream is only as good as the people you share it with. And I want to share my dreams with you.”
In that moment, his heart soared. It beat wildly, clanging against the walls of his chest and demanding to be released into the wild like the stallion it was. Megan wanted to be with him.
Him.
